How To Install android-sdk-build-tools on Ubuntu

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

The Android SDK has a number of tools that will assist you in developing mobile applications for the Android platform. The tools are divided into three categories: SDK Tools, Platform Tools, and Build Tools. Build-tools is an Android SDK component necessary for developing Android application code. This package includes the Android SDK Build tool. Android SDK Platform tools are used to include Android SDK Build-tools. They have been isolated from the Android SDK Platform tools, allowing the build tools to be updated independently of the IDE components. The Android SDK Build Tools are precisely what their name implies: tools for developing Android applications. It is vital to use the most recent build tools version although older versions are kept for backward compatibility in case your projects rely on prior versions of the Build Tools.

On Ubuntu 20.04, there are three options for installing android-build-tools. Apt-get, apt, and aptitude are all available. Each strategy of installation will be described in detail in the following sections. You may select any of them.

Using apt-get to install
Using aptitude to install
Using apt to install

Method 1: Using the apt-get command

Using the following command, update the apt database using apt-get.

sudo apt-get update

After upgrading the apt database, we can use apt-get to install android-build-tools by performing the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install android-sdk-build-tools

Method 2: Using apt-get

The apt database will be updated using the following command.

sudo apt update

After upgrading the apt database, we can use apt to install android-build-tools by performing the following command:

sudo apt -y install android-sdk-build-tools

Method 3: Using aptitude

If you want to use this method, you may need to install aptitude first because it is not normally installed by default on Ubuntu. Use the following command to update the apt database with aptitude.